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and Steve Says… What About Affordable, Entry Level, and Budget Audio? ...and a Little Announcement About the LA Audio Show!

As anyone who has followed my work for the past twenty years or so know, I am all about lower cost, high value audio. I love finding equipment that punches above is price class and attempts to give real, solid, quality sound with the potential for long term satisfaction. I feel I have been pretty successful at unearthing some real gems over the years, and have assembled a low cost system at home that remains relatively stable, and gives me the high quality music reproduction that I want. I am totally satisfied with this system, and feel it is a great reference point for my articles about lower cost audio gear.

On the other hand, I'll be the first to admit that the very best systems I've heard over the years have been quite a bit more expensive than mine, and far more than I would ever be able or willing to pay for an audio system. The point isn't that I don't think more money can't get you better sound, but rather that more money isn't always the answer.

I like to use cars as an analogy. I love performance cars, and many years ago rallied a Volvo 122S. It wasn't so great on the paved sections, but was lots of fun in the dirt and snow, and taught me a great deal about proper handling technique. Imagine if you were thinking about buying your first fun car, and asked some auto enthusiasts about a good way to start out. What if their answer was that you could get by with a Porsche or a Corvette, but until you got a Ferrari or Lambo you wouldn't really understand? And then what if it broke down to a nasty argument over purist manual transmissions and rear wheel drive versus paddle shifted dual-clutch or all-wheel drive? Then the sports sedan versus coupe versus ragtop debate would rage. Finally, of course someone would carry on about how nothing since the Lotus 7 could be considered real sports car…

You get the idea.

Of course I would suggest you get a Miata or a BRZ, find some out of the way country roads and have fun. You can always buy a faster or higher tech car at some point in the future if you feel you need to, but you might also find that for the simple joy of hitting an apex perfectly or sliding through an off-camber decreasing radius curve, one of these cars may be all you need.

But, back to audio. I've been pushing the importance of high quality lower cost gear for since the mid 1980s. And have been taking that quest seriously. While others get stuck in the upgrading process, spending more and more for what will inevitably be smaller and smaller gains, I try to find those incremental improvements by spending less, not more.

In 1982 I owned early (second generation) Acoustat Monitors that in the late 1970s sold for $3200. In the early 2000s I had VMPS RM-2neo speakers that were pretty amazing, and sold for about $2700. For the past five years I have been totally satisfied with the Tekton Lores that cost all of $1000.

Having said all that, there are a few things I get worked up about when discussing lower cost audio. Mostly it revolves around the terms involved, and why the most common ways to describe it are meaningless.

Affordable

I realized years ago that I should never use the term affordable when discussing audio. I do not review "affordable" equipment. To someone making ten dollars an hour, a thousand dollar pair of speakers are not affordable. The new recent college graduate, even if they managed to get a decent paying first job in their field, with school loans to pay off, health insurance, and probably having to deal with paying their own way for the first time in their life, a few thousand dollars for a stereo is not affordable. To the middle-class family with a couple kids, youth sports, school expenses, day care, and the like, that $5000 to $10,000 we all say is affordable for a budget system, doesn't seem so attainable.

In reality, everything is affordable to the people who buy it, even those (and especially those) $100,000 amplifiers and $200,000 speakers. Nothing is affordable to those who don't think what they get is worth it. To say a product is affordable says nothing about the value of a product, or whether anyone will be willing or able to pay for it.

Entry Level

The term Entry Level should be an okay term. It should designate a point where quality is high and cost low enough, or better described as the price to performance ratio is good enough that real high quality sound will be there without overspending your budget. But then we run into the same issue of what is that price point that makes it entry-level, and for whom?

My main issue with the term entry level as generally used in audio, and where my issue with the term lies, is that it seems to always indicate a short term, temporary, flawed or heavily compromised piece that will tide you over only until you get a better (read, more expensive) piece to replace it. That is, it seems to be used as a description of entry into an upgrade path, rather than an entry into good sound. I try never to suggest anything that seems like it is intended as a stopgap measure. A product I tire of or feel the need to upgrade from too quickly is not something could recommend.

"It will do until you can afford something better…" is not something you will hear me say. I guess it is why I like simple turntables, passive line stages, basic amplifiers, and speakers that are full range enough to not limit my choices in music.

Budget Audio

And finally, regarding the term budget audio, I guess to me that is just another meaningless term. Don't most people buy things based at least somewhat loosely on some kind of budget? "I think I'll by this $10,000 preamp…" isn't something someone thinks if they only have a few hundred dollars in the bank. On the other hand, I've read too many articles and comments about five figure items being "budget alternatives" to much pricier pieces. To qualify the term with a phrase like beer budget, just makes me think that some people drink $15 a bottle craft beer, while many people buy their Bud in 30 packs. Still, maybe compared to $500 for a bottle of whisky it makes a little bit of sense.

In the end, I seek out and write about lower cost, high-value audio gear. I enjoy it and take it as a challenge. I will generally stick to my under $3000, but probably closer to $1000 target price range, with the occasional foray into slightly more expensive pieces, just to be aware of what I might be missing. I suppose if I hit a lotto jackpot someday, I'll pony up a little bit more for a really killer system. Who knows, maybe I'll bump my budget up to something extravagant, maybe even as high as $5000!

The LA Audio Show – Positive Feedback Presents - Getting Started

Having said all that, after all these years it's time to put my time and effort, if not my own money, on display and show the world what I'm talking about. For all of you who will be attending the LA Audio Show June 2-4 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles, I will be hosting a special exhibition suite (Room 533) for just this purpose, using gear from these companies:

I will be showing full systems ranging from as little as $350 up to just under $5000. We will have turntables, computers, music streamers, and even Bluetooth capability. And sticking with my long time belief that you have to demonstrate audio gear with music your listeners know and already like, unlike most rooms we will encourage everyone to bring their own music to play. Bring your LPs, music files (preferably on a USB stick), you can even bring your iPod, QP1, AK, Pono, or phone and we'll play from it, time permitting.

Steve Lefkowicz's System

All components in BOLD are loaned; all components in standard face are owned by me.

All the music on the Questyle QP1 is full resolution copied directly from my music server, ripped from CD or downloaded as high resolution 24 bit PCM or DSD.

Almost all music on the iPod is ripped from CD or converted from high resolution files to 320 kbps. This iTunes library resides on a separate notebook from the server hooked up to the main system. I also play direct from this notebook to the DT770 using an Audioengine D3 USB DAC/Headphone amp.

OTHER NOTES

This is an extremely low cost system, with no single component, except the Linn turntable and the Vermouth Audio cable set, having a list price over $1000. It is eminently musical, and close enough to full range to be very satisfying on all types of music. It does not make me choose music to fit its limitations or characteristics.

The Tekton Lores are my primary speaker, and are usually powered by the 15 watt Antique Sound Labs amp. I still haven't found a speaker in the price range ($1000) that gives me a more overall satisfying presentation. The Direct Acoustics Silent Speakers are a unique speaker, more a "music lovers" speaker than an audiophile product. They are terribly inefficient (rated about 83dB) but sound beautiful with the 105 watt B&K ST-140 or other high powered solid state amps. The Sound Dynamics 300ti is a speaker I've had since 1997, and keep mostly to have a third option when reviewing amplifiers. Not a high efficiency design, they still match up well with lower powered tube amps and higher powered solid state amps. They are the more traditional "audiophile" speaker in my collection. I also have a pair of VMPS RM2neo towers, but they are in storage, as they are too big for my current listening room. They also sound best when biamped, which makes them less effective as a reviewing tool.

I've had my Linn LP12 since 1984. The recent addition of the MOSE/Hercules II power supply to replace the Valhalla PCB leaves me thinking I'll keep the Linn for many more years to come. The Dynavector cartridge I use is a discontinued 19a, that uses the same body as the 17D, but with a tapered aluminum cantilever. The iFi iPhono stage is surprisingly good for the money, and a great reference point for a budget oriented listener.

My listening room is the shared family living room, and somewhat oddly shaped. From the wall behind me to the wall behind the speakers, it is 12.5 feet. The room is 25 feet wide, but I use about 13 feet from one side wall for my system, making for an asymmetrical setup. The left speakers is only about 15 to 24 inches from the left side wall while the right speaker is about midpoint along the wall. Distance from the wall behind them depends on which speakers are being used, placed for best overall tonal balance and bass response. I don't particularly place speakers to maximize imaging or soundstage characteristics, as those are secondary to me to musical and tonal considerations.

Currently, my music collection is split approximate 60/40 between LP and digital. About a third of my record collection (all the rock albums alphabetized from M through Z) was stolen sometime in the 1990s, and it's been a slow process replacing many of those albums. Though more than half my digital collection is on CD, I currently do not have a CD player hooked up. All the CDs were ripped to my server either as Apple Lossless or FLAC (since switching to JRiver) files. The rest of my digital collection is high resolution (mostly 24/96) PCM FLAC files, with about 900 or so DSD files (dsf format). I do not currently have a DSD capable DAC, and let JRiver convert to 24/172 on the fly.

I've been collecting records since I was nine year old, and still buy LPs whenever I find something I want in that format. I do not buy, nor have interest in, so-called audiophile releases, where the sound quality takes precedence over the musical content. I would rather listen to a mediocre recording of music I really like than an audio spectacular of uninteresting or boring music. I do not own Jazz at the Pawn Shop or any Diana Krall. I am an admitted old Prog Rock junkie, and still listen regularly to bands like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis (Gabriel era only), Gentle Giant, Camel, Van der Graaf Generator, many of the Canterbury scene bands, and other progressive rock and jazz acts. I love all forms of music that are intricate, and demand attention. About the only forms I don't listen to very much are mainstream pop tunes, bad rap (some of the early or more artistic rap is quite good), 80s arena rock, most forms of metal or hair bands. In spite of how that sounds, over half my LP collection is classical. Give me something interesting to listen to, or I'll probably watch a hockey game instead.

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Positive Feedback, A Premier High-End Audio Magazine – articles and reviews of high-end loudspeakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, cables, tweaks, CD/SACD players, turntables, tubes, music, and more! All material within this site is copyrighted and can not be reprinted or used in any form without our express written permission. For problems with the site contact the webmaster.